I do dig some bonefish art. The good stuff catches your eye just for a second while you are on about your non-bonefishing day and just for a second you can hear the sound of the wind through the mangroves and feel the deck sway on the current under your feet… just for a second.

I met Eric on that trip to the Keys earlier this year. He’s one fishy dude and he’s also a very talented artist. I felt really fortunate to get to meet him and hear his story. Sorry I didn’t get out fishing with him though.

You can get a piece of his art through his website. One lucky guy just got this piece for his wife. Awesome.

I dig on bonefish art. I have some art up in my house. Really, my new wife had no idea that I would want to put so much fish-related art up and she’s been a very good sport about it all.

I have no found artistic abilities and maybe that is why I gravitate toward the artistic. There is some school of psychology that says we are drawn toward those traits we lack in ourselves. I tend to subscribe to that idea and I can see how that may have played out in my own life.

I saw the art of Dan Sharley over at Midcurrent and I got in touch with Dan to see if I could post up one of his paintings. He responded and consented, which was very nice of him. One of these might make a very nice Christmas gift, don’t you think?

I’d like to drop a gotcha right in there.

I asked Dan what he used as a model for these bonefish and here is what he said:

The Bonefish painting, like most of my work, is based on an imagined scene or composition. It’s probably a result of watching way too many fishing shows and reading way too many fishing magazines. Basically, I suffer from fish on the brain. I’ll use photos simply for reference (i.e., fins in the right places, scale shapes, eye color, etc.). The rest is pretty much my imagination at work.

Got news last night that Marty passed away. Marty was a really, really good guy. He loved fish and the places they are found. He was a real cornerstone of conservation down here in the South Bay. He’ll be missed.

Below is a post about Marty’s bolo from earlier in 2011.

—

Marty showed me his new bolo from none other than Louie the Fish in Hawaii (Louie and his son guide for bonefish as well).

Good looking bit of paint on canvas. $200 bones gets you as many bones as you can count in this painting. You might have to look closely to see them, which is kind of how that works anyway. The artist is Peter Corbin. Great looking canvas.

That is just pure awesome. Mike does some really, really good work. This picture was taken at FIBFest… some really good pictures were taken by Cameron and now one of those has been turned into a pretty kick arse painting by Mike.